Dr Venter concedes being late with invention

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://www.merinews.com/catFull.jsp?articleID=130710

Dr Venter concedes being late with invention

Natteri Adigal, 04 March 2008, Tuesday

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The star of the show at the Monterey conference was Dr Venter who created waves last year by announcing his intention to create a new life form, Synthia, with a wholly synthesised genome. His memoirs, titled ‘A Life Decoded’ became a best seller, coming as it did after he famously sequenced his own genome back in 2001. The scientist is now hopeful of licking the challenge of tackling global warming caused by carbon dioxide emissions with an appropriate solution by next year.

Currently, every million molecules of air contains 380 molecules of CO₂, compared to under 280 parts per million before the advent of industrial revolution, and the figure is rising alarmingly. The heat-trapping power of CO₂ is responsible for the steep rise in average temperatures. Further warming entails the danger of rising sea levels, disruption of global agriculture, more frequent hurricanes, storms and tsunami.

Engineering solutions for global warming and providing for the exploding needs of energy, either solar power or nuclear fusion, albeit technologically feasible, are not of much promise. To be practicable, these must be designed with economic considerations in mind. With whatever environmental treaties and regulations, expensive, non-polluting technologies cannot be forced on people over cheaper, environmentally ‘dirty’ technologies.

“We have to use bio-design to achieve the effects we need,” Venter said at the meet. His solution is to unleash a life form that will not only produce enough energy at economical rates, but will also ‘consume’ CO₂ in massive quantities. In effect, the solution will simultaneously lick the engineering challenge of carbon sequestration and sustainable energy generation.

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[GliderGuider]

1. Thank the goddess!

I don't know if there's a human being alive today who frightens me as much as Craig Venter. The later he is with this little piece of tinkering, the better.

[kestrel91316]

2. I don't much like the idea of we dumbass humans playing God to this extent.

We are SO good at creating unintended consequences......